The Fires of Vengeance

By: Evan Winter

Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi

Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

In order to reclaim her throne and save her people, an ousted queen must join forces with a young warrior in the second book of this "relentlessly gripping, brilliant" epic fantasy series from a breakout author (James Islington).

Tau and his Queen, desperate to delay the impending attack on the capital by the indigenous people of Xidda, craft a dangerous plan. If Tau succeeds, the Queen will have the time she needs to assemble her forces and launch an all out assault on her own capital city, where her sister is being propped up as the "true" Queen of the Omehi.

If the city can be taken, if Tsiora can reclaim her throne, and if she can reunite her people then the Omehi have a chance to survive the onslaught.

The Burning
The Rage of Dragons
The Fires of Vengeance

©2020 Evan Winter (P)2020 Orbit

Was so hopeful....

First off, to the author,

I’m sorry to hear about your father’s passing... I can’t begin to imagine the grief; but I do hope that, as time goes on, your memories of him begin to bring more joy, than sorrow—from your dedication, he sounded like a great man.

Now to business.

Here’s the thing... Good freaking gracious... there was NO hope in that entire book; not a moments rest, or belief that something decent might happen. Not only did things fall apart so often that it became an expectation—that absolutely nothing would go well for our “protagonists”—but, about three quarters of the way through the book (maybe a little further), it became clear that there were really no decent characters to root for anyway (nearly everyone was an awful human being)... and even some of the ones I thought might be good, ended up being secretly vicious—merely throwing on a thick layer of “goddess this,” and, “goddess that,” in order to cover something ugly.

Also, when they sent Tou (or however you spell his name) after the chieftain... how could they possibly NOT have seen that coming back to haunt them?! With what happened, there was literally no other way it could have gone.

The worst part is, I think the story is ridiculously intriguing—what with all of the mysterious things happening behind the scenes—but this book was just too much for me. So much death, and sorrow, and loss, and practically no break. Did you not WANT the majority of people to read this more than once? Because that’s always my hope, whenever I buy one of these... that I’ll be able to go through it again, if it’s good. And this IS good... only far too bleak. For a time, one or two of the characters kept me above water—probably the simple knowledge that at least SOME goodness could survive within the whirlpool of ugliness—but when you stripped even THAT away... well, I’m a little surprised that I was able to finish, to be honest.
I don’t know if I’ll buy the next... at the moment, I’m leaning “no;” but we’ll see how much my nerves have settled by the time it comes out. Who knows... Maybe I can root for that random priestess, who heals people.

The build up!

I agree with other reviews about where the POV splits on a crucial scene that has been the build up of the entire 1st book, and yet, we as readers do not get the satisfaction of seeing it through the protagonist eyes. That is a bit disappointing. This book is the fateful second book in a series where we are just waiting to see what is coming. Sure there is fighting and some character building, but overall it doesn't contain much content that moves the story forward. I am eager to see what book 3 brings and there is a slotted 4th? It will be interesting to see why it's split into 4 books. I definitely enjoyed book 1 more, but I still followed along in book 2.

Excellent narration

The narration was excellent. I like the advancement of the story and active inclusion of more female characters.

Another slam dunk!!

Often the sequel of an amazing book does not stand up to the level of the original. This is not one of those times. These books are great works of literary art and fantastical majesty. Do yourself a favor and buy them immediately!

Fantastic!

Evan's writing is excellent and the narration is great. Now I can't wait for the next book in the series

LOVED IT!!!!!!!

Narrator is PERFECT!! Story is awesome!! Worth the wait!! Couldn't stop listening, loved every second

The most intense and moving book of my year.

This audible production is breathtaking. it encapsulates the mind, and opens new thought of fear and righteousness.
I encourage people to read the book 1 and this following novel to experience what I have just found. A masterpiece.

I wish I didn't have to wait for the next one!

The story is amazing, the characters show growth in character, the narrator makes the story come to life! I never wanted to stop listening and my only wish is that I didn't have to wait to keep going.

The overarching story kicks off

by the end of this book it is clear that the first is more like an origin story for Tau. in this book Tau's origin story finds a satisfying end, but his adventure truly begins as the larger story begins to present itself.
there are many things going on at once, nothing happens without reason, and I'm excited to see where Evan winter takes us in the next one.
additionally, onayemi's narration has only gotten better. of all the male narrators I've heard, he is the best at doing voices. many male narrators have just 1 female voice, but onayemi is able to give multiple female characters unique voices that fit them. I also love how he does Hadif's voice especially.

Failed Sequel

Didn't come remotely close to the first book. Slow, dull. and drawn out. I'm a major fan of charachter development but this has been a major let down.